Remembrance

T’tzaveh

Ex. 27:20-30:10

Précis: The parasha continues with a description of ritual items in the Tabernacle, including oil for the lamp, priestly clothing, the ephod, breastplate, robes, plate, and miter. Aaron and his sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eliezer and Ithamar are designated as Priests and are consecrated with sacrifices and ceremony. The parasha concludes with a description of the daily sacrifices and incense to be offered at the Tabernacle.

Ex. 28:9-12 “Then take two lazuli stones and engrave upon them the names of the sons of Israel six of the names on the one stone, and the remaining six on the other stone, in the order of their birth. On the two stones you shall make seal engravings – the work of the lapidary – of the names of the sons of Israel. Having bordered them with frames of gold, attach the two stones to the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, as stones for remembrance for the Israelite people, whose names Aaron shall carry upon his two shoulder-pieces for remembrance before God.”

            Rabbi Reuven Greenvald (writing in Ten Minutes of Torah, 2/11/19) reminds us of the modern theory that the Torah is made of separate strands redacted together. This week’s parasha is viewed as part of the P-strand, which stands for Priestly code, composed by the priests’ heirs to Temple authority during the Babylonian exile. Exodus 28 describes the special clothing of the Priest in sometimes agonizing detail. The main garment is the ephod, a sort of tunic. There also shoulder pads, bands, and a breastpiece inlaid with precious stones, as noted in this verse.

            Symbolically, the breastpiece is the perhaps the most interesting part of the Priest’s attire. Added to the of stones with the names of the tribes is the “breastpiece of decision,” (choshen hamishpat), which seems to be a pouch hanging from the neck. These are connected in some way to the oracles of the Urim and Thummim.

            In describing the function of these engravings in these verses, the Torah emphasizes the words “remembrance” (zikaron). We are to remember the people of Israel, and they are also to provide a “remembrance before God.” Carried above the heart, there are two aspects of this “remembrance.” Since the heart was viewed as the organ of intent, Aaron is to remember the tribes accompanying him as he enters the Holy of Holies. And once there, God may be seen to “remember” the People as well.

            If we look at these garments metaphorically, we may see something apt for today: leaders often forget those who selected them, and to whom they owe a duty. Aaron carried the names of the tribes of Israel on his shoulders as he went about his duties as a reminder of his obligation to those he represented before God.

  

Mikdash Me'at

T’rumah

Ex. 25:1-27:19

Précis: As the Israelites continue their journey through the wilderness, God tells Moses to ask the people for gifts to build the Tabernacle. “T’rumah” (voluntary donations) of fine metals, yarns, skins, and woods are offered by the People. God gives Moses precise instructions as to the interior and exterior construction of the mishkan (tabernacle). Specific items include an altar for burnt offerings, a curtain (parochet) to separate the main room from an inner sanctum, elaborate candlesticks, incense burners, and other tools. There will be a special Ark to be placed in an area called the Holy of Holies to house the tablets of the Ten Commandments. Precise measures are given for all spaces as well as specific materials designated for the composition of the mishkan.

Ex. 25:3 “Tell the Israelite people to bring Me gifts; you shall accept gifts for Me from every person whose heart so moves him.”

                Rabbi Sacks has written about the Tabernacle from the perspective of the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem (Covenant and Conversation, 2/6/19).  He notes that “It is hard to understand the depth of the crisis into which the destruction of the First Temple plunged the Jewish people. Their very existence was predicated on a relationship with God symbolized by the worship that took place daily in Jerusalem.”  Babylon’s conquest in 586 BCE meant that the Jews lost not only their land and independence, but also, their hope. This is perhaps best expressed in Psalm 137, where the Jews sang, “By the waters of Babylon, we sat and wept as we remembered Zion…How can we sing the songs of the Lord in a strange land?”  The answer began to take shape. With the loss of the Temple, Jews could come together in collective worship. It was during the Babylonian exile that the tradition of exegesis of the Torah began.

            Ezekiel prophesized on the creation of the synagogue as an institution: “This is what the sovereign Lord says: although I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet I have become to them a small Sanctuary (Mikdash me’at) in the countries where they have gone” (Ez. 11:16). The Temple had been destroyed, but a miniature remained.
            Historians often ignore the revolutionary nature of the synagogue as an institution. It was an entirely novel form of divine worship, unlike any others previous seen in human experience. But what was the origin of the synagogue? Ironically, here we come full circle to this week’s reading: to the Tabernacle. It was designed to be portable and temporary, as opposed to the stationary and “eternal” Temple. The Tabernacle in our parasha was erected so that God could dwell within the People (Ex. 25:8). In other words, God lives in the human heart, and so the location of the “dwelling place” becomes irrelevant. This would usher in the creation of the synagogue seven centuries later, and the synagogue can be seen as the parallel of the Tabernacle for us today.